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Summary of Events * The Knights Celebrate Sir Elad's First Son, but Mourn Sir Elad the Elder's Passing * The British Army Prepares To Move Against The Saxons Of King Octa and King Eosa * At St Albans, Uther Orders His Troops Into Battle * Sir Malcolm Dies Gloriously Defending His Allies * A British Victory Is Acheived, But At A Cost Sir Brastias, Duke Ulfius, Sir Bar, And Sir Leander Are Amognst The Wounded * Sir Rhodri Joins The Lords At Their Victory Feast: Saxon Mischief Poisons Almost All Of Them * There Are No Lords In Logres: Earl Roderick Is Buried In Sarum, King Uther Is Buried In Salisbury * The Wedding Of Sir Rhodri And Lady Jenna Is A More Sombre Affair * Grim News From Cambria: War And Death Abound * In London, Outside St Paul's Cathedral, A Sword Rests In A Stone Details The Battle of St Albans * Royal Court Is In Sarum, Where The British Army Has Gathered To Fight The Saxons. In total about 1500 knights and 5000 men-at-arms are present. ** No allies have arrived from Cambria except King Gwyddno Garanhir of Cantref Gwaelod, who has brought Sir Seithenin and othe rknights to aid. *** The expected aliles from Escavalon and Estregales are notable by their absence. ** King Uther remains very sick. The gossip around court is that he cannot be long for this world, and if he passes with no heir there would be a serious problem. ** The knights enjoy a final feast before marching off to war: *** Sir Rhodri shares a chaste kiss with his beloved, and asks Sir Aeron for advice on... bedroom matters... his monastery upbringing did no inform him about. *** Sir Malcolm And Sir Leander discover the gossip from the peasants is rather grim - they aren't expecting a British victory. * The British army marches to St Albans in Hertford to meet King Octa. King Uther Pendragon is brought by litter and leads from the rear. ** A first assault on the city is a total disaster, a Saxon trap set in the "open gates" of the city. ** The next day, the armies met outside the city. 9000 Saxons stand before the British - Uther is outnumbered but has a potent cavalry the Saxons lack. *** QQQ The Infamous Feast & Aftermath * The battle over, a victory feast is held in St Albans. Wine flows freely and Earl Roderick invited Sir Rhodri to dine with the lords. ** In the bailey, the other knights enjoy a fine evening. Sir Elad and Sir Aeron pass out early from drinking - Sir Geriant and Sir Madog keep partying all night. ** Several knights injured the battle must rest in the makeshift hospital, incuding Sir Brastias, Duke Ulfius, Sir Bar and Sir Leander. ** Sir Rhodri refrains from drinking anything bar water at the lord's feast: some jokes are made about how similar he is to Father Dewi. *** Duke Corneus, unaware of the marriage agreement because he was ensieged over the winter, is drunkely enraged to discover that Lady Jenna's hand has been promised to Sir Rhodri despite his own attempts. * At midnight, screams come from the lord's hall. Knights rush in to see Uther, Corneus, Roderick, Gwyddno and the other nobles vomiting, falling over and turning blue. ** Sir Rhodri, Sir Geriant and Sir Madog try to minister to Uther, Roderick and Gwyddno respectively; but whatever ails them is too deep. ** Geriant calls for the king's physician, who identifies that they have been poisoned. If Rhodri is safe, it was presumably the wine. Foul Saxon dastards! ** Surrounded by blood and vomit, the bloated corpses of Logres' noble class pile up as they one by one die of poisoning. Only those who did not drink from the wine (because they were in hospital or abstained from the excess) escape this massacre. * The knights travel home on their mighty funeral procession. ** Many peasants come out along the way of the procession to show their respects. ** The King and Earl Roderick lie in state in Salisbury Cathedral. Few nobles attend; most of them are burying their own husbands, father and brothers. *** The Earl is buried in Sarum by Bishop Roger; the King is buried at Stonehenge, between the graves of his brother and his son ** With Robert of Salisbury still a child, Countess Ellen will act as caretaker ruler until he is knighted. *** Sir Lycus starts an argument, claiming he will not swear his alliegence to a woman. He says a strong man is needed to rule... and Sir Rhodri is that man, since he will shortly join the family. *** Sir Rhodri refuses this honour. Sir Elad suggests Sir Rhodri would probably be happy to assist the Countess as an advisor, but he and all his comrades (including Sir Leo) swear it is the Countess they will pledge to. ** More unpleasant news come from Cambria. *** Estregales and Escavalon did not attend the battle because they are at war with each other. King Dirac can barely hold his country together following his father's death, and it seems a war was an easy way to unify them. *** Queen Tryamor's curse has proven true: with King Gwyddno's death, the land of Cantref Gwaelod was ravaged by storms which broke the dams and flooded the land. A handful of people survived the chaos, sent scattered across Cambria. * The wedding of Sir Rhodri and Lady Jenna is finally held: the only bright spark to a dark year. ** Sir Rhodri's monastic teachers attend and help celebrate mass with Bishop Roger. ** The celebrations are somewhat muted, as Rhodri does not go for spectacle, but are still appropriate to the daughter of an earl: the celebration costs £15. ** Rhodri receives an impressive dowry: five Demesne Manors, five Enfeoffed Manors and the charter to the town of Upavon. This makes him a higher Banneret Knight than Sir Elad, and the acting male head to the Earl's family. * There is no Royal Christmas court, as there is no King. Salisbury's celebration are a muted affair. ** Sir Aeron QQQ ** Sir Elad has a good harvest, and is blessed with yet another boy child. ** Sir Geriant QQQ ** Sir Leander is cheered in his healing by good word from Estregales - his manors grows well, with the peasants helping rebuild the damage from last year. His mother visits from Orléans and the serfs take to her. ** Sir Madog QQQ ** Sir Rhodri must deal with his new-found wealth and responsibility - even though the weather is bad to him, he still makes over 35 Librum! A great many building projects are begun, including defending his manor with a ditch, rampart & moat to make it a safe place for Jenna to hole up in if needs be. They have not been married long before God blesses them with their first son.